Chapter 10
The ‘right’ part of town turned out to be what most people considered the wrong part, and it was much further away than I would have liked. We passed an abandoned gas station, its windows raggedly boarded over. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I caught eyes watching from the gaping slats. The acrid scent of smoke permeated the street. Dozens of rotting carnations lay forgotten on the blackened stoop of a charred, skeletal building. Apartment buildings that would be condemned in the next few years lined the street. Clotheslines, bare in this cold season, crisscrossed the upper levels between the closely snuggled buildings.
I tried to keep my distance from Bobby as we walked. He hadn't said anything more about the hunter, but several times I caught him studying me out of the corner of his eye. The sidewalk was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side, so the most efficient way to stay away from him was to walk beside someone else. Unfortunately my choices where Nathanial, who had made me into a blood-sucking monster, and Gil, who made it clear she was afraid of said monster. I spent a lot of time changing my pace to make sure I had the sidewalk to myself.
On Hampton Street, Gil pointed to a rundown building nestled in a row of equally dilapidated complexes. “That's it."
We were almost to the front steps when a flicker of orange light caught my attention. Two men sat in a parked car outside the building, the one in the driver's seat fumbling to light a cigarette. I noted they were watching the entrance, but my mental alarms didn't go off until one cracked the window and the wind carried trace scents of menthol and something more exotic than wolf.
I froze. Hyena?
Bobby stopped beside me, his nostrils flaring. He made a quick jerk of a nod, and the shadow in the seat beside the smoker nodded back.
I dropped my gaze. “You know him?"
"Yeah. Keep walking.” He motioned us on with a tilt of his head. “It will look worse if we turn around."
I forced my dragging feet to follow. He headed toward the building and the hunter watching it. So not a good plan. What the hell was he thinking?
"Hunters or cops?” Nathanial asked without breaking stride.
"Both.” Bobby took the front steps two at a time.
Bad plan ... really bad. “Uh..."
Bobby didn't stop. “We share a safe house. He's one of the few who knows I'm looking for a cat, and you smell like a wolf. A male wolf who is local.” He cut a glance at Nathanial. “That trick you did to Kita's face earlier, can you do it to yourself?"
Nathanial nodded.
"Then I suggest you look like the hunter Kita smells like.” Bobby wrenched open the front door, stepping inside without pause. I followed, trying to act natural, but what is natural about walking into the building of a rogue's latest victim? My knees shook as I clamored up the steps, and I had that creepy feeling at the base of my spine. The one that tells you eyes are boring into your back.
By the time I reached Nathanial beyond the door, he looked like some bizarre blend of himself and Evan. The change was subtle, mostly small things like a squaring of his chin, the color of his eyes, and a tan impossible for someone who couldn't be touched by the sun. It wasn't perfect, but if another hunter gave him only a passing glance, it would probably do the trick. When he saw me staring, he smiled, just a slight lifting of his lips, which was all Nathanial, and then he lifted his sleeve. A hawk swooped across his wrist. Creepy.
The apartment building boasted a small lobby, just enough room for a double row of mailboxes and a small bench. A man in torn jeans sat on the bench. Though his nose was buried in a hot rod magazine, his eyes gleamed through his lashes as he watched us enter. His concealed radio transmitter gave off a high-pitched buzz that caught in my ears. I winced and concentrated on not glaring at him.
Lorna's apartment was on the first floor. Gil led the way, though she needn't have. Lorna's door was clearly marked by yellow crime scene tape and a seal we'd have to break to enter.
"Do they usually tape off the home?” I looked at Nathanial and he shook his head. Well, now we knew where she was found.
We were close enough to touch the crime tape when I heard the muffled voice behind the door across the hall
"We have a visual. They don't meet any of the resident's descriptions."
I hesitated. More cops?
Nathanial's fingers brushed the back of my hand, then entwined with mine.
Had he heard?
He didn't look at me, but with our hands locked together, he walked past Lorna's door. Gil stopped, oblivious, and Nathanial gave her a small shove to get her moving again. She turned to glare at him, and he stepped around her. Walking up to the apartment one down from Lorna's, he rapped on the door.
What would he do if someone answered?
No one did.
He glanced at his watch, and then up at me. He knocked again, and I stopped watching his play act. He was buying us time. Closing my eyes, I made good use of the senses that had awakened since I fed. I sifted through the scents in the hall: sweet cigar smoke, a large bird, simmering stew with a healthy dose of garlic—which vampire or not, smelled good to me—and people. So many people had been through the hall recently, including the hyena cop-hunter. Under all that was the acidic rust smell of blood—old blood, rotted blood. Something else too. Animal, but different. The scent tickled something in my memory, but I couldn't pin it down.
Nathanial squeezed my fingers, and my eyes flew open. I glanced at Bobby. He shrugged, shaking his head. Well, so much for that. No rogue.
Conscious of the police listening from across the hall, I tugged Nathanial's hand. “He's not here."
He nodded, abandoning the stranger's door, and led us out of the building. Gil acted like she might protest as we passed the crime tape again, but after puffing out her cheeks, she followed without a word.
When we stepped out the front door, the hyena-shifter was leaning against the stair railing, a hoagie in one hand, while his partner stood across from him with his cigarette dangling between his lips. My mouth turned dry, my breath catching in my throat. We were going to pass within a yard of him. Nathanial still had my hand in his, and for once I was glad. I wrapped my other hand around his arm, pressing our sides together, mingling our scents. If Evan was any example, hunters kept human girlfriends. I could only hope this hunter took me as such.
As we reached the bottom step, the hunter-cop looked straight at Nathanial. Would he ask for the time like Evan had? Crap, I was wrapped around the arm with the illusion mark. Nathanial seemed to realize that too, because he released my hand and lightly tugged free of my grip. Then he slid his arm around my shoulder, dragging me closer. In the process, his sleeve crawled up, flashing the swooping hawk on his wrist.
The hunter nodded minutely, turning back to his partner. We continued without a word.
Once we rounded the corner, I let out the breath I'd been holding. That had been way too close. I shrugged away from Nathanial. His fingers traced over my shoulders, but he didn't restrain me.
I stopped under a faded ‘No Standing’ sign. “Now what?"
"We need to get in the apartment,” Gil said, glancing back the way we'd come.
Nathanial shook his head and slipped off his glasses. “I doubt that is a smart plan while the police are watching it so closely."
I turned to Bobby. “Did the hyena give you any information we can use?"
His eyes turned stony again, his jaw clenching. Looking away, he shook his head.
Why did I get the feeling he didn't get along with the other hunters?
At the top of the street, a couple turned the corner and stopped in front of a telephone pole with a yellow strip proclaiming the word ‘Bus.’ A third person crossed the street and joined the couple.
Nathanial lowered his voice. “I know someone with contacts to the police, but he would want an explanation. Kita has not been presented to the council yet, so I cannot risk using him."
He met my eye and I frowned at him. We didn't have time to waste seeing the vampire council. He knew that.
After a moment, he sighed and turned to Gil. “Are you aware of the rogue ever returning to a scene?"
She twisted a strand of her dark curls between two fingers and squinted like she could read notes on the back of her eyes. “I don't think so.” She unrolled her list. “Should we go to the next most recent location?"
I shook my head. “The closest.” We were running short on time.
She scanned the scroll. “The home of one of the early victims shouldn't be too far from here. I think she was the fifth, maybe sixth victim.” She started toward a small side street. “I'm pretty sure it's this way."
Nathanial stopped her. We'd all experienced Gil's concept of near. I decided Sabin must not have public transportation, because she was pretty comfortable with long treks. So was I, but we were in a hurry.
"What is the street address?” Nathanial asked, and Gil rattled it off. He thought about it a moment then pointed up the street, where a small throng of people had now gathered. “Let's take the bus."
* * * *
I didn't like the bus.
To the driver's—very verbal—annoyance, I kept standing and pacing between the back seats. The only other time I'd been in a motorized vehicle some old lady was attempting to drive me to the vet to be spayed. That trip had not gone well.
Nathanial pulled me into the seat next to him. “Sit still, or I will hold you down."
I tried.
Graffiti-sprayed walls became less common and working streetlamps more prevalent as the tenements gave way to wealthier residences. Small trees appeared at regular intervals in the sidewalk, their skeletal limbs trembling in the breeze. Dark-eyed picture windows gazed over the street, and spacious balconies blocked out the sky.
I was the first one off the bus when we finally reached our stop.
"Which way?” I asked before anyone else's feet hit the pavement.
Nathanial pointed to a high-rise condominium across the street. The building was the least impressive on the block, but still a palace compared to any of the residences in the area we'd just left. Even the brownstones around the park didn't compare. A stylized cornice framed the tall building. The arched windows and marble columns were reminiscent of neo-gothic architecture, but, despite the historic accents, the building probably hadn't been erected more than ten years ago.